Skateboarders Show Respect by Cleanup of the Two Skate Parks

On Saturday, March 9th, Skatepark Respect Inc. and the Vista Skatepark Coalition hosted a Vista Skateparks Cleanup Day. 48 amazing volunteers helped clean both of the Vista Skateparks and with the help and guidance of Skatepark Respect and Coalition Staff, we were able to thoroughly clean the parks. Volunteers of all ages picked up trash,wiped down fixtures and rails, scrubbed graffiti, scraped gum, and removed waste from the parks, alley, surrounding parking lots, and the areas in between. We spoke about the benefits of a clean skatepark; and the need for skaters and the community to takeownership of the maintenance of the parks. Skateparks are an incredible gift, and cities often don’t have the budget or resources to continually maintain them. The local skateboarding community must take responsibility for keeping the parks clean, alive andwell for years to come. The volunteers were treated to a raffle of skateboarding products donated by our generous sponsors: Brixton, Elenex, Skate 7 Skateshop, Triple8NYC, Z-Flex, Mini Logo, Oldmanskatesesh, Ratt Skate Co., Plain Skateboard Co. We also hadbreakfast burritos donated from Fat Joe’s Oceanside, and fruit and water from Sprouts. Skatepark Respect Inc. and the Vista Skatepark Coalition plan to visit and clean the skateparks, as part of an ongoing community stewardship. To sign up for future CleanupDays, please visit www.skateparkrespect.org. or contact thevistaskateparkcoalition@gmail.comVista Skatepark Coalition supports the youth of Vista through the promotion of the healthy and popular sport of skateboarding. This is achieved by engaging the youth and assisting Vista City officials in planning, funding, building, and maintaining free, public, high-quality skate parks. These facilities serve all skill levels, and involve Vista youth in all phases of the process.

CLICK ON PHOTO TO EXPANDSkate Park Respect Mission
To create a positive movement that promotes respect, appreciation and maintenance of public skateparks.As skateboarders, we love the amazing gifts of skateparks everywhere. We didn’t have them growing up so seeing more and more pop up across the country is an incredible gift to skateboarding. We skateboard a lot and have seen the positive benefits of skateparks within a community and have seen skateparks close when they are run down and abused. The Broken Windows Theory by James Q. Wilson and James Kelling states that serious crime and disorder are the result of a lengthier chain of events. The theory posits that a broken window, if left broken, sends a message that disorder is acceptable causing more broken windows, more crime, more disorder. Disorder causes crime, and crime causes further disorder and crime. Fixing the broken window sends a message that it is not acceptable and that someone cares and takes ownership of the issue. This relates to skateparks as we have seen parks close due to trash, graffiti, crime, and misuse. These issues require more maintenance by the cities and community and often fuel the negative stereotypes associated with skateboarding. We saw a need for the community to take ownership and for the skateboarding community to be responsible for the longevity of the skateparks and to minimize the negative impact on the cities. We believe the opposite of the Broken Windows Theory is also true. One positive action can lead to another. Positive momentum is contagious.